Ole made a critical £25m mistake in 2021, which led to Man Utd signing £250k-a-week flop

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As Jadon Sancho’s move to Borussia Dortmund is confirmed, it’s worth contemplating what Manchester United sacrificed for him to join the club.

Jadon Sancho‘s exit from Manchester United was always considered likely in January due to him falling out with Erik ten Hag.

The winger has now been sent packing, back on loan until June at Borussia Dortmund where he initially burst onto the scene.

This less than three years after United parted with £73m to see him arrive at Old Trafford in a move which has been poor to put it kindly.

Now, we’ve looked back and compared his time at United to that of a player who cost almost five times less, yet in many ways was ten times the signing.

Manchester United should’ve never sold Dan James to sign Jadon Sancho

Dan James arrived at Old Trafford for a fee of just £15m – £58m less than Sancho cost just two years later – and while he was unfairly treated with severe criticism, he was far better for the club than Sancho was.

Most telling of James’ impact under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the unbeaten run he helped United go on during the 2020/21 season.

From the opening day of the 2020 season, until he left in August 2021, James was unbeaten for United which is an impressive record.

This run was ended when he was sold for £25m with Sancho’s arrival – costing United a mere £250k-a-week – leaving no room for the Welshman. However, when the two are compared, James’ sale looks like a critical mistake by Ole.

James had qualities off the ball which were substantial and were far more important to the team than even Ole understood and he probably regretted selling him immediately.

Here’s how the £15m man compares with his £73m counterpart.

Dan James and Jadon Sancho’s Manchester United careers compared

In his 74 appearances in Red – as per Transfermarkt – James scored nine goals and assisted nine as well, which for a player who wasn’t primarily a creative winger with work rate and his direct running value, is an impressive return.

Sancho meanwhile has made 82 appearances during his first spell at United, scoring 12 and assisting six – according to Transfermarkt – which is the same number of contributions as James in eight more games.

When this is considered, it paints quite a damning image that Ole made an absolute howler in his decision to sell James to facilitate Sancho’s arrival.

James is a player Ten Hag could’ve loved, as he excels in the same area Antony has been deployed in the past two seasons and so it is a real shame – in hindsight – that this move was made.